Faith in Times of Disappointment
JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER
When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
Reflection: God Brings Us Through Suffering
Why did Jesus wait until Jairus’ daughter had died before coming to awake her? We know that Jesus could have chosen to heal her from afar. Instead, He allows Jairus to desperately seek Him in a crowd of people, get on his knees to plead, only to have people from his home tell him it’s too late. Let’s also remember that Jesus just healed a woman afflicted with hemorrhages in the crowd right before Jairus’ eyes. He must have felt a keen sense of disappointment that the woman got a blessing while he received nothing.
But, what we know is that in light of disappointment, fear, & sadness, Jesus said, “Just have faith.” Jairus stayed faithful through his sufferings, and in the end, Jesus gave Jairus something greater than He could have imagined; He raised his daughter from the dead. In the same light, God brings us through suffering so that we may be given something greater than we could ever imagine.
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